What is the difference between weight loss and fat loss?
Sometimes stepping on a scale can be discouraging because the number on the scale is higher than you anticipated. Do you know scale weight is not representative of your ideal total body composition (body fat, lean muscle and total body water), nor is it necessarily an accurate indicator of how healthy or in shape you are? Your body composition numbers are much more important than the number on your scale, which fails to distinguish good versus bad body weight, and only represents your body’s relationship with gravity. At CERULEAN, we can help you understand what you are actually made of and use this data to create a more objective approach to lifestyle change and weight management.
What is weight loss?
There are many different factors that affect our weight; bone mass, muscle mass, water weight, and fat cells. When losing weight, it is possible you might be experiencing a loss in water weight or muscle mass, but not fat loss. The scale number may be decreasing, but it is not the ideal weight loss that leads to more permanent and healthy results.
Your muscles typically make up approximately 30-40% of your body weight, and as the saying goes “muscle weighs more than fat.” A pound of muscle will appear about 5 times smaller than a pound of fat. This is why losing muscle mass and seeing the number drop on the scale is not a path to reach health and fitness goals.
What is fat loss?
Fat accounts for about 10-30% of the body, on average. Every body is different and each individual can vary drastically depending on diet, exercise and lifestyle habits. This is why knowing your individual body fat percentage is so useful to set and meet realistic goals. Fat is much less dense than muscle and bone and it burns less calories at rest than muscle does.
For ideal fat loss, you should focus on a fat burning program that utilizes low-intensity, long duration cardiovascular efforts to improve your metabolism, leading to cyclical benefits that will lead to even more fat burning and ultimately improved body composition.. Regularly testing your body composition and cellular health will help ensure that you are losing “the right weight” and optimizing your efforts to achieve a happier and healthier you!
How do I find my body composition?
This is the easy part! Set up an appointment at CERULEAN for a Body Composition Test, which will only take about minutes and you will leave with personalized data about what you are actually made of, not just how much you weigh. This test will determine your body fat percentage and body fat weight, lean muscle mass, water weight and percentage, how hydrated you are and need to be , and your overall cellular health. The skilled professionals at CERULEAN will go over the data with you so you can quickly understand how to leverage the results of the test to set your realistic and achievable goals to achieve for your next body composition assessment.
Is fat loss one of your goals? If so, contact us today to schedule an appointment.
Burn fat faster by combining Whole Body Arctic Cryotherapy with your fat loss program.
